[5G Small Cell Towers Antenna Siting – American Cancer Society – Analogs – BCCDC – BCUC & Smart Meter Fires: The Failure to Protect by Sharon Noble – Benefits vs. Costs – Cancer (Brain Tumours, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Pediatric, Salivary Glands, Thyroid) – Cell Phones – Class 2B – Clean Energy Act – Connecticut Health Department – Consumption Measurement – Contact North Vancouver City Council re Microcell Applications – Cordless Phones – CSA – Data for Sale – Doctor Joel Moskowitz – EHS / ES – ELF – EMF – EMR – Epidemic – Health Canada Safety Code 6 – IARC – Itron Smart Meters & Legality of Active Grid IoT Commercial Uses Without Consent – Len Garis – Letters to & Responses from Adrian Dix, John Horgan, Michelle Mungall, Tim Lambert re BC Hydro Smart Metering Program Misinformation (Fires, Health, Privacy, Safety) – NCI – NIH – Partner Communications (Orange) Lawsuit – Radio-off Smart Meter – Raphael Feinmesser – RF – Smart Phones (Cell Antennas) – Studies – Transmissions per Day – US Cancer Statistics – WHO – Wireless Devices – Yawei Zhang | North Vancouver, BC – Canada – Australia – China – Croatia – Czech Republic – France – Israel – Italy – South Korea – Connecticut, USA]
1) Studies show that heavy cell phone use is associated with thyroid cancers, and new “smart” phones could increase this risk.
(click on photos to enlarge)
From Dr. Joel Moskowitz:
“The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that 53,990 new cases of thyroid cancer will be diagnosed in 2018 making this the 12th most common cancer in the U.S. Rates for new thyroid cancer cases have increased 3.1% per year over the last ten years (on average) based upon an analysis of data from the NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-9 (SEER-9) cancer registry program.
Since smart phones are more likely to have cell antennas located in the bottom of the phones than earlier cell phone models, the peak radiation exposure from a smart phone is more likely in the neck than in the brain.
Hence, I would hypothesize that the association between cell phone use and thyroid cancer has increased in recent years. The switch from “candy bar” and flip phones to smart phones could explain upward trends over time in thyroid cancer incidence and relatively flat trends in brain cancer observed in some countries.”
https://www.saferemr.com/2014/07/is-mobile-phone-use-contributing-to.html
2) From a member living in North Vancouver: Please pass this information on, and ask friends and relatives who live or work in No. Van. to write to the Mayor and Council with their concerns. Good info to provide is at:
https://whatis5g.info/about-5g-iot/
“I understand that an electric company (won’t name them) has just dropped off at NV city office 78 applications for microcells in the City of NV. These are worth over $20K to said electric company. However, more concerning is the increasing radiation for all people working and living in the City of NV.
Might it be an idea to give a call to the Mayor, if you work or reside there, and suggest they don’t approve this application?
If you do not live there or work in NV City, but know others who do, please pass this on to them. Even now, the radiation in the area near the hospital is intolerable for anyone with electro-hypersensitivity. Of course cellular damage is taking place in everyone, whether they know it or not!”
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Response from Tim Lambert:
Thank you for your email of September 28, 2018, to the Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, regarding your concern about the installation of smart meters. I am pleased to respond on Minister Dix’s behalf.
The Ministry of Health relies on the expertise of the BC Center for Disease Control, the Provincial Health Officer, and Health Canada when determining acceptable levels of electromagnetic frequency. Studies show that smart meters transmit data in short bursts, and when not transmitting data, do not emit radiofrequency energy.
Not true. They emit 1,000s of signals and must to keep the mesh grid stable. How else would BC Hydro know when there is an outage or someone has interfered with a smeter?
Indoor and outdoor measurements from smart meters during transmission bursts were found to be below the human exposure limits specified in Health Canada’s Safety Code 6. Based on this information, Health Canada has concluded that exposure to radiofrequency energy from smart meters does not pose a public health risk.
Lambert should be aware that SC 6 is outdated, and one of the worst guidelines in the world. He should know that there are 1,000s of studies (especially the Ramazzini study) that show serious health risks at a mere fraction of SC 6, etc. It is his job to know this. Does he?
On May 31, 2011, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) – such as those emitted by cell phones – as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” This announcement refers to hand-held devices where exposure is in close proximity to the head.
Not true. It applied to all wireless devices, including smeters, and the Director of the report said so. Lambert either is terribly ignorant of the facts or is deliberately misleading.
There has been some confusion that this classification also includes smart meters. With respect to environmental exposure in which the radiofrequency fields from smart meters would be categorized, the panel concluded: “In reviewing studies that addressed the possible association between environmental exposure to RF-EMF and cancer, the Working Group found the available evidence insufficient for any conclusion” (p. 625). Therefore, smart meters are not considered Class 2b – “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
Not true. The IARC cancer classification includes all sources of RF radiation.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5504984/
Protection of public health is a priority for this government and the Ministry of Health. We aim to apply the most up-to-date research evidence to inform decision making. The evidence at this time concludes smart meters do not pose a public health risk.
Of course this is not true. Why else would he say there is no evidence of a health risk.
I appreciate the amount of time you have spent researching this topic and I thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Sincerely,
Tim Lambert, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Health Protection Branch
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Response from Minister Michelle Mungall:
Thank you for your September 28, 2018 email concerning BC Hydro’s smart metering program and for taking the time to write. I understand that you have also sent the same email to several of my colleagues.
Based on your email, it seems as though your primary objections to accepting a radio-off meter relate to customer safety and privacy.
Over time, BC Hydro has attempted to alleviate customer concerns, and I want to use this opportunity to respond directly to the issues you raised.
There is now a better understanding, and much more data, about the link between smart meters and fire safety. Mr. Len Garis, Surrey Fire Chief and former President of the BC Fire Chiefs Association, has done extensive research on the reporting of fires in British Columbia. His report concluded that there has been no increase in the frequency of residential structure fires associated with electricity since July 2010 (prior to the installation of smart meters). Mr. Garis’ report is available online at https://cjr.ufv.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Smart-Meters-UFV-Research-Note-October-2017.pdf.
Since 2011, BC Hydro has installed approximately 2 million smart meters and there is no evidence that a BC Hydro smart meter has caused a fire.
Absolutely untrue. Garis did not do any extensive research. He looked at one report from the Fire Commissioner which was nothing more than a summary of incomplete data submitted by fire depts. Please see my fire report (first 37 pages http://sios.ca/SMFireReport/SuperReportSmartMetersKW.pdf ). Garis was paid by BC Hydro for this. And there is evidence galore of smeter fires. There has never been a fire caused by an analog.
The report findings also show that in a one-year period (2016/2017), smart meters helped identify 258 potentially overloaded services, and 192 voltage anomalies, enabling BC Hydro to take action to eliminate the safety risk.
With regards to privacy, BC Hydro has been collecting electricity consumption information, and protecting the privacy of their customers’ information, for over 50 years. In British Columbia, a customer’s personal information is protected by law. As such, all personal information collected by BC Hydro is managed in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. BC Hydro does not provide, nor sell customer information to third parties (for example, Itron).
Before the smeter, BC Hydro had no way to gather detailed info about us, so forget the 50 years junk. And look at what ITRON itself says it plans on doing (see my updates of Sept. 21 and 22 at www.stopsmartmetersbc.com under “Newsletters”).
https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/2018-09-21-itron-admits-the-reasons-for-smeters/
https://stopsmartmetersbc.com/2018-09-22-is-itrons-plan-to-use-smeters-for-other-purposes-legal/
Smart meters, like the meters they replace, are only used to record consumption. For this reason, like BC Hydro’s analog and digital meters, smart meters are not covered by the Canadian Standards Association, as they are not considered to be consumer products.
Not true. The CSA does not certify consumer goods alone. The analog base is CSA certified and the digital (smeters) should be but BC Hydro has been allowed to not have these independently tested for safety. BC Hydro accepts ITRON’s word. Why hasn’t BC Hydro had a professional Engineer test and certify these meters as they do with all of their equipment?
Modernizing the electricity grid is a critical part of the BC Hydro plan to provide a secure and reliable power system. The replacement of obsolete mechanical meters with modern smart meters is a critical part of this transformation. Though analog meters are still available in the market place and in other jurisdictions, they are no longer part of BC Hydro’s standard metering equipment, and are not eligible for use in British Columbia.
What makes them “ineligible”? The Clean Energy Act? Many places have determined the benefits do not justify the costs. And the costs are huge and understated by BC Hydro. Why not modernize by putting lines under the ground to prevent/reduce outages. There are any 1,000s of people who lose power each day when cars hit poles, weather brings down lines, or birds fly into equipment. How modern is this?
Once again, thank you for writing. I appreciate the opportunity to hear from you about this important issue. It helps inform my work within the Ministry, and your engagement is crucial to our democracy.
Sincerely,
Michelle Mungall
Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
Sharon Noble
Director, Coalition to Stop Smart Meters
The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice — it is conformity.
~ Rollo May